Review - A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

It was a pleasure once more to step into the world of Ana and Din, the intrepid investigators of the Shadows of the Leviathan series by Robert Jackson Bennett. This third book sends them to an area of the Empire more familiar to Din, the city of Lacanthim. Initially, it seems like they have been assigned to a clear cut and unintriguing case of the murder of a beautiful girl, part of a struggle between two aristocratic families. However, the crime is a strange one and the motives of the survivor, the main suspect, and the ruling Burav and Armenta clans of the district are unclear. What follows is the solving of a murder mystery that will prove a strong test for Ana's problem-solving abilities.

This third instalment of the series is once again a triumph of world building, and the ever-present, unusual environment finds ways to permeate through the entire story and its characters. The clans have been fighting a long battle over the valuable animal and plant grafting and harvesting  businesses of the area. There are ways these two families have exploited to breed and control altered beasts, which involve the hiding or willful ignoring of unpleasant and immoral practices. The atmospheric descriptions of the altered forest, the effects of a substance that can infect people's minds and the ancient religion of the Daljen are sophisticated bits of the background that blend in thoroughly with the main story. Din also encounters his sister, who is bound up with one of the clans, and both of them find their situations similar in having to deal daily in service to 'cruel' older women.  

There are a number of plot happenings and twists before we get a clear picture of why the initial murder and later crimes occur. Ana and Din are often left guessing, and the solution to the mystery can only be found after the unlocking of secrets and further explorations. Din struggles with temptations, the mutating nature of the 'engraver' alterations to his body and the need to update his feelings about his estranged sister to reconcile with her. There are some fairly ghastly skeletons in the Empire's closet near the end, and once more we step a bit closer to find out Ana's true, concealed nature. 

As always, I enjoyed the vivid eccentricity of Ana's character and the often funny banter she engages in with Din and others. The people in the story are often flawed, or self-centred, or blind to the motives of others. And while Din is the character telling the story, we only get glimpses of his true feelings at times, for example described as 'sad' , which is a clever way of showing and not telling us some of the deeper undercurrents of the story.

It seems like this is a series that will continue for a while longer. I don't believe that is a bad thing at all.

Thanks to Netgalley and DelRey for an ARC of this book.

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

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